As Japanese brewing regulations relaxed in the mid-1990s, it wasn't uncommon for large Japanese resort companies to open breweries. One such brewery, Harvestmoon, is owned and operated by Oriental Land Company (OLC), which runs the Disney theme parks in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture.
Harvestmoon's connection to Disney is fitting, since the story of its master brewer, Tomoko Sonoda, sounds like a fairy tale.
In 1996, OLC was expanding, with Ikspiari, an upscale shopping mall and gateway to the parks, to open in 2000 and Tokyo DisneySea following in 2001. The company wanted a brewery to supply restaurants and hotels around the parks and at select sites in the new DisneySea complex. Sonoda, then a parking attendant, decided to apply. Competing for the position against a pool of nearly 40 other OLC employees, Sonoda was nervous.